Andrew Nicla//April 29, 2020//
Gov. Doug Ducey today extended his stay-at-home order with some modifications until May 15 and took a step toward slowly reopening Arizona’s economy.
The announcement, which came before his original order was initially set to expire midnight Thursday, included the first of many steps to gradually jumpstart the economy. The governor emphasized that his plan closely follows U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
The governor, who modified his original order amid a growing desire to allow at least some businesses to resume, is walking the tightrope to balance public health and economic interests.
As part of Ducey’s phased approach, he will allow retail stores to voluntarily reopen on May 4, and expand their operations under strict public health requirements on May 8.
In addition, his goal is to allow restaurants to reopen in May, he said. The governor added he is listening to business leaders in that industry and argued it would not make sense for restaurants to reopen when people aren’t going out.
Arizona’s out-of-state travel restrictions for certain states will also remain active until May 15, he said.
Ducey said he understands the frustration by some but asked the public to “hang on.”
“The objective, while continuing to focus on protecting public health, is going to be turn up the light in our economy,” Ducey said. “It will be gradual and phased in. You can think of that dial, if we make the right decisions at the right time, will be turned up at the appropriate times in the coming weeks and months.”
Citing public health data, Ducey and Department of Health Services Director Cara Christ said the state can meet the projected demands for worst-case scenarios. The state has tested just over one percent of the population, but Ducey and Christ said they hope a “testing blitz,” which aims to test 10,000 to 20,000 people for COVID-19 per weekend starting May 2, will help them make the best decisions.
Ducey said his actions, which rely on data, are “incremental,” “balanced,” “responsible” and in line with state and federal public health guidance.
“I wouldn’t have put out an aspirational date if I didn’t think that it was achievable, or if we could come within a week or two of it,” Ducey said. ‘If good news would accelerate, we could accelerate.”
Ducey’s announcement comes a week after he issued an executive order allowing hospitals and surgical centers to resume elective surgeries if they have “adequate capacity” beginning May 1.
Arizona will effectively mirror and build upon what Ducey called “flexible” guidelines from the White House when phasing out social distancing measures and reopening businesses.
That three-phased plan aims to slowly open up businesses to normal operations while slowly reeling back social distancing measures for states that see fewer reports of COVID-19 and influenza-like illnesses for two weeks.
Under Phase One of Trump’s plan, all “vulnerable individuals” would stay home when they can and those who go out would continue to practice social distancing and avoid gatherings of 10 or more people. Some businesses would reopen with social distancing measures in place.
Arizona has yet to satisfy the requirements of that phase, as it is still waiting for cases to drop consistently.
The decision also came days after the Arizona Chamber of Commerce released a statement listing its suggestions for how the state should begin to gradually lift restrictions on businesses. Among the suggestions are minimizing liability, allowing restaurants and businesses to “be nimble” and serve customers with minimal contact, and implementing social distancing rules and other safeguards, among other things.
The chamber sent the letter to Arizona Commerce Authority President and CEO Sandra Watson who, along with the Arizona Office of Tourism, is wrangling dozens of business interests around the state and working on an economic recovery plan.
An hour before Ducey’s announcement, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Tuscon Mayor Regina Romero and Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans released a joint statement urging Ducey to follow CDC guidance laid out in Trump’s plan and to not open too early. The three said the Governor’s Office didn’t tell cities what the governor intended to do. Local officials have long complained of being left in the dark on the governor’s plans to combat COVID-19.
The three mayors called for an increase in testing and for the state to observe a two-week decline in cases before opening.
“We’ve seen other communities who have reopened too soon and paid the price in both public health and with a second economic shutdown,” they said in the statement. “We do not want that to happen in Arizona. We are all eager to reopen the economy as soon as it is safe to do so.”
The Governor’s Office earlier said it considered a county-by-county opening “very carefully,” but expressed worry that opened counties would be vulnerable to traffic from regions that aren’t open, setting them back.